Sesame Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp white rice vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp water

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Dumpling Wrappers

Put the flour in a small bowl, slowly pour in the water (or vegetable juice) and knead until mixture forms a soft dough. If the dough seems too dry, add 1 tsp water at a time. You don’t want the dough to be sticky though. Knead for 2 minutes and wrap the ball in plastic wrap. Let rest for 25-30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the filling.

Filling

Heat the sesame oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and chopped spinach and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the spinach becomes soft. Stir in the black beans, diced tofu, soy sauce, maple syrup, turmeric, sriracha and 5-spice if using. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed, adding more soy sauce for saltiness, sriracha for spiciness and/or 5-spice for more flavor.

Remove from heat, transfer to a large bowl and let cool 15 minutes.

Divide the dumplings dough into 2 balls. Roll out each ball into a round as thin as you can (about 1 mm thick). I rolled out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to make sure it doesn’t stick, you can also dust with cornstarch. IMPORTANT: the dough needs to be rolled out very thin, I insist on this because otherwise, the dumplings will take longer to cook and might be doughy.

Lightly press the edges of the round with your fingers to make it thinner than the center.

Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Wet your finger and run some water (not too much) around the edges of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper to form a purse-like shape, alternatively, you can shape it into a half moon if you prefer. Make sure to press with your fingers to seal the dumpling. Set aside and cover with a damp kitchen towel while you prepare the rest

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the dumplings 20-30 seconds, or until the bottom is golden brown. Lower the heat to medium heat and add 1/2 cup water. Cover immediately with a lid and let “steam” until the dumplings are tender and no water remains, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve immediately with the sesame dipping sauce.

Sesame Dipping Sauce

Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed, if you find the sauce too salty add more water, if you prefer a sweeter sauce add more maple syrup.

Notes

To color the dough:
For the yellow dough: replace the water with carrot juice.
For the purple/red dough: replace the water with beetroot juice.
For the dark grey dough: add 1/4 tsp activated charcoal.
For the orange dough: add 2 tsp tomato paste.
For the light purple dough: replace the water with purple cabbage juice.
For a light green dough: replace the water with spinach juice.

To make vegetable juices: you can use a juicer, or a blender and then strain the pulp. It should work with store-bought juices, just make sure they are unsweetened.